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Tejon Ranch to San Diego?

Tejon Ranch to San Diego?

Submitted by shop on 15. Januar 2013

Has anyone made the drive from the Tejon Ranch supercharger location to north county San Diego? Google maps shows it to be 185 miles, but you have to go over the mountain pass going into Los Angeles as well.

Fredhmartin |
15. Januar 2013

Stop at the Hawthorne SC for a quick boost

jinglehyme |
15. Januar 2013

I'd stop at Hawthorne for a pick-me-up. Wouldn't want to land with drained vein. It's totally doable though. You'll get lots of re-gen from the summit all the way to 210 interchange. And still more as you head south. I have a house in Pasadena and a loft in San Diego's East Village. On my last trip from the Bay Area to San Diego, I wouldn't have needed to stop at Hawthorne if I was only going to North County.

shop |
15. Januar 2013

Thanks jinglehyme. Hawthorne isn't exactly on a direct route when coming from Tejon Ranch down the 5. I'll see how much I have left coming down from the summit. I plan to fly up to Fremont for a factory tour and car pickup, and then drive home. I'll have to get a good music playlist for the drive :-)

From the Bay Area, do you just hit Harris Ranch, then Tejon Ranch superchargers?

drp |
15. Januar 2013

Shop

Instead of music, maybe you'll just want to listen to the sound of the engine.....

SD Supercharger |
15. Januar 2013

@Shop-
I have heard people say they should have made a stop at Gilroy if you are heading south from the Bay area

Tâm |
15. Januar 2013

I have not tried, but since detouring to Hawthorne Supercharger would cost only about 12 more miles, I would think it is prudent to recharge there on your way to San Diego.

Others advised that it is best to stop at each Supercharger if you can. That way, it adds a peace of mind and you can drive any speed and pass other cars if you want. That means you should stop by Gilroy, Harris Ranch, Tejon Ranch, and Hawthorne.

On the other hand, I imagine it is possible to go straight 185 miles despite of climbing up the mountain but I would suspect that you might have to eventually slow down before you run out of battery and let VW beetles , Prius pass you by.

Real world driving can be a rude awakening to theoretical specifications!

Brian H |
15. Januar 2013

drp;
Some don't react well to the sound of hyperdrive ...

rwang |
15. Januar 2013

You can make it. so long you do 65 mph. anything more than that, is cutting it close.

Did factory pick up last month. Stopped in Harris Ranch and Tejon Ranch. Made it to La Jolla with 45 miles to spare. Easy, but took 9 hours including charge times of 45 and 60 minutes.

William9 |
16. Januar 2013

And, of course, Harris Ranch is the main variable. Read yesterday of someone who had to wait 2 hours for the Supercharger to free up. I'd be tempted to stop at Gilroy for a range charge, then drive 60 to Harris Ranch. If not available you can make to Tejon if you maintain the 60mph regime. Gilroy to Tejon = 228 miles, so doable with care.

biwamura |
16. Januar 2013

On a max charge I made from Tejon to Oceanside with 60 mi to spare.

shop |
16. Januar 2013

brewdr, would you recommend the factory pick up (and presumably tour) even with the long drive back?

jinglehyme |
16. Januar 2013

#shop - The "long" drive is the fun part, silly.

brewdr |
16. Januar 2013

Shop,
Factory tour was awesome. As an owner and shareholder I wanted to see the inner workings. The long drive wasn't too bad. Tour started at 9 am. Left at noon, home by 9 pm. It gave me a good long while to get acquainted with the car and the touchscreen. My opinion on the drive home may have changed if I had to wait to charge, but I didn't see another Tesla the whole way home. No regrets. With car, tour or drive. Good luck.

family |
16. Januar 2013

I've done this several times, but I always stop in Hawthorne. I prefer going down the 405 anyway. You should be fine without it if you want to though. I figure every 1,000 feet uphill costs something less than 10 miles of charge.

JohhnyS |
16. Januar 2013

When first driving the car it is hard to resist using the energy--it takes a while to learn to maximize the range. Cruise Control is a big help.

DC@Tesla |
25. Januar 2013

Is it possible to make it from Hawthorne supercharger to San Diego Zoo and back in one charge (S85 or S60)? If there is no supercharger in SD area how do people make this round trip?

smd |
25. Januar 2013

Shop,

The factory tour is well worth it. My pick up was scheduled for 4 pm on a Saturday, but I did not arrive until 5:30pm because my daughter's event went late and then there was much more traffic than anticipated for a Sat. Tesla was awesome and found someone to give us a private factory tour as the large group was long gone. We saw many parts of the factory (bring your walking shoes!) and many Model Ss in various stages of production and there were many factory workers zipping about as they were running multiple shifts. They have the only INDOOR test track of any factory in the US, since there are NO emissions. That's in addition to the large outdoor test track for high speed testing.

The kicker was when we went past a group of office desks in the middle of the factory floor and there was Elon Musk going over plans with folks at 6 pm on a Sat night! I thanked him for his vision and persistence with Tesla and he thanked me for being a customer!

So you never know what or who you might see on the factory tour! If you're there on a weekday, stop by and check out the service area at the north end of the factory before you leave.

stevenmaifert |
25. Januar 2013

@p16666 - If you have a Blink card, the good news is there are four grid tied solar powered Level 2 chargers in the San Diego Zoo parking lot. The bad news is none of the parking spaces within range of the cables are designated for EV parking only. I emailed the city EV guru about this last week. Haven't heard back. The chargers are in the outer part of the lot, so if you get there early enough you should be okay. Even though it's a longer walk to the zoo entrance, ICE park there to take advantage of the shaded parking created by the solar panel awnings.

Brian H |
25. Januar 2013

There should be a sign there: "Electric vehicles only. Other cars will be shoved into the hippo wallow. You have been warned." You could print your own, and leave them there as a public service!

If you call ahead, you should be able to make an appointment at the Tesla Showroom at Fashion Island Mall (I think it's in Irvine?). They should be able to allow you to use their 70A Roadster charger with a Model S adapter.

I did exactly that at the Santana Row store in San Jose.

When I was in San Diego in October last year, I asked the Valet manager whether they had EV charging available in their hotel - this was the Westin in downtown SD. He said no and that they didn't have plans to add the capability. I've also called around to various hotels in the Disneyland area. The only one that I know of that has charging capabilities is the Hilton just south of Disneyland.

SD Supercharger |
25. Januar 2013

@p16666
The Tesla store at UTC in La Jolla (north of SD) has a high powered charger. Call ahead and I am sure they will let you hop on for a full charge. Otherwise San Diego and north San Diego county are loaded with Level 2 chargers. Check Blink and Chargepoint for details.

DC@Tesla |
25. Januar 2013

Thanks for info on charger options! I found other options on Recargo as well (e.g. Hilton Bayfront). Guys, help me make a decision: the LA to SD trip is the one long distance trip I will make in the S (Distance 128 miles one way). I need to finalize and was going to go for the 60. Is 60 enough or do I need the 85? Thanks in advance. ( I have read the threads on how 230 miles turns into 209 then taken 20% off for driving in CA then taken another 20% off for aging and other factors so that takes it down to 133 miles...hmmmm I should go for the 85?).

stevenmaifert |
25. Januar 2013

p16666 - If LA to SD is the only long distance trip you will be making in your S, then I would go for the 60kWh battery. 10K more for the 85kWh will buy you some peace of mind, but there are plenty of L2 chargers along the LA/SD route if it ever gets tight.

DouglasR |
25. Januar 2013

@p16666

If you can afford it, I'd go for the 85 kWh. The beauty of the 85 is that, if you had to, you could get there and back on a single charge.

Tâm |
26. Januar 2013

If I based my purchase on my past driving habit, it would be a big mistake.

I could afford the gasoline cost, but I never drove more than 900 miles per month with my Prius.

The Model S changed it all, it is not just because of better fuel cost, but it's about the experience of the car that has dramatically encouraged me to drive quadruple my usual pattern.

If you can afford, you should get a biggest capacity battery you can buy. If Tesla has a bigger than 85kWh, I would get the biggest one too.

Again, remember that Tesla estimate of 300 miles, EPA estimate of 265 miles are just a guideline where all of their conditions must be strictly met.

In real life, I would not want to see VW beetles, Kia, Hyundai, Honda Civic, Corolla, Prius just pass me by while I try to meet Tesla/EPA guidelines!

Brian H |
26. Januar 2013

Tam;
Right! Get a big battery, and drive it like you stole it.

peahl |
26. Januar 2013

@p16666
be careful with the Hilton Bayfront, you have to pay the parking ticket
@stevenmaifert
I have e-mailed the City of San Diego already three times because of the unmarked EV charging spots but never get an answer. But there are two other places with blink chargers in Balboa Park and those are marked (Fleet Sience Center and the Space Museum). At the Space Museum there are always unoccupied chargers. But more and more the spaces in San Diego are occupied with Car to Go Smart cars Electric Drive.
Peter

Venugv |
16. April 2016

Just made my trip on 85D both ways. I made it with about 30 miles left without any issues. I probably would have had to stop at Hawthorne SC or at Burbank SC for a top up if I was driving the 70D.